The present invention is directed a panel for supporting at least two parallel tubing carrying fluid, e.g., radiant heat transfer medium. More particularly, the present invention is directed to such a panel capable of securely supporting the adjacent tubing thereon in a stable, versatile mariner to facilitate heat transfer between fluid flowing through the adjacent tubing and out to supporting structure. As used herein, the term “heat transfer” encompasses heat exchange for both heating and cooling purposes. For example, the heat transfer tubing can carry heating fluid such as water or cooling/refrigeration fluid such as Freon (CCl3F).
Numerous types of structures for retaining heat transfer tubing on floors, walls, ceilings, etc. are disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,021,372; 6,533,185; 5,579,996; and 6,283,382. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,800,352; 6,251,495 disclose utilizing a radiant heat barrier to reduce unwanted heat transmission in a particular direction. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,092,587; 5,740,858 and 5,497,826 show heating/cooling systems having panels with very specific arrangement of both supporting channels for heat transfer tubing and heat barrier layer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,330, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein, discloses a panel for supporting heat transfer tubing and having a tube-receiving track with a multi-faceted inner surface. U.S. application Ser. No. 11/528,171, the contents of which are also incorporated by reference herein, is directed to, among other features, improving interlocking between adjacent panels supporting heat transfer tubing.
However, all these references, in addition to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,743,330 and 5,454,428, are directed to just supporting a single heat transfer tubing upon respective panels or structure. There is no indication of supporting a plurality of heat transfer tubing upon such structure, namely supporting such tubing adjacent one another to facilitate heat transfer between fluid flowing through the adjacent tubing and out to the supporting structure.